Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
A bee-autiful program out of Minnesota
Every March, I look forward to sharing with you some of the cool stuff I’ve learned at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Unfortunately, this year, at the last minute, I was unable to attend. So, I’m sorry to say that I have no nuggets of wisdom or exciting innovations from the show to relate. A sad turn of events, certainly; but happily, there’s never a shortage of interesting, informative gardening topics to explore here. And I often don’t even have to dig them all up myself. Sometimes readers and friends bring things to my attention.
This week, while I was missing the Flower Show, a Facebook friend sent me a link to a program by the State of Minnesota to increase bee-supportive habitat throughout the state. The plan is to restore native prairie species by offering cash incentives to homeowners. As reported by Greg Stanley in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (May 30, 2019), Minnesota has allocated $900,000 in incentives for people to transform their lawns into bee-friendly wildflowers, clover, and native grasses. The program rolls out this year.
I read the headline and had two conflicting thoughts. The first thought was, “Wow – that’s fantastic!” The second thought was, “Less than a million dollars? What kind of under-funded program is that!” But then I read into the details and learned how little it costs to buy the appropriate seeds; for instance, $7.00 for a pound of Dutch white clover. At that rate, you could seed more than 125,000 properties. Sounds like a good start.
In addition to being relatively inexpensive, clover grows low enough that homeowners wouldn’t have to change the way they mow. And of the 350 species of bees in Minnesota, some 55 have been observed feeding on white clover. In addition to clover, seeds available will be for native wildflowers and grasses.
According to Stanley, “The plan could help replenish food sources for pollinators of all kinds, but will specifically aim at saving the rusty patched bumblebee, a fat and fuzzy species on the brink of extinction that seems to be making its final stand in the cities of the Upper Midwest.” With a name like “rusty patched bumblebee,” this insect didn’t sound very important, so I did a quick search and learned a bit about why we’d want this insect to hang around for a good, long time.
First, a quick refresher in bee facts. As bees visit flowers, they collect pollen on their legs. Pollen is the sole source of protein for a bee colony. During the summer season, worker bees live only about six weeks. That means that the hive/colony constantly depends on new generations of bees to take over. According to Charlotte at carolinahoneybees.com, “Only a continuous source of new bees during the warm season allows the colony to survive. No pollen=no baby bees.”
Back to the rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis). On the website of the Xerces Society, I learned that this particular bee “was once an excellent pollinator of wildflowers, cranberries, and other important crops, including plum, apple, alfalfa and onion seed.” The whole thing gets more intricate and interesting. As Stanley notes in his article, research at the University of Minnesota has shown that bumblebees are particularly important to the region. They land on flowering stems and vibrate at a frequency close to a musical C note, which unlocks pollen other insects can’t reach. All reasons why we’d be smart to do what we can to keep this and other pollinators going.
Fun facts aside, the main takeaway for me is that none of us has to wait for a government program to help us help the bees. With a bit of research into appropriate plants, and a few dollars for seeds, we can create pollinator-friendly bits of habitat on our properties.
Note: In an update in the Minnesota Star just this week, Stanley reports that nearly 6,000 applications from homeowners were received, more than expected. Grants will be up to $350 each.
The plan could help replenish food sources for pollinators of all kinds, but will specifically aim at saving the rusty patched bumblebee, a fat and fuzzy species on the brink of extinction
Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pamelacbaxter@gmail.com, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442. Share your gardening stories on Facebook at “Chester County Roots.” Pam’s book for children and families, Big Life Lessons from Nature’s Little Secrets, is available on Amazon, along with her new companion field journal, Explore Outdoors, at Amazon.com/author/ pamelabaxter.